Florida drivers rank among worst in US, fail to recognize many road signs

Drivers in Florida failed to recognize the meaning of road signs in a recent survey that ranked them among the eight worst states in the United States.

Out of the Florida drivers who took the online survey, over 10 percent failed to acknowledge the existence, validity or legality of basic road signs like “U-Turn Only” and “Yield.”

That means that out of every 10 cars you pass in Florida, one of them failed to recognize these fundamental guides of road rules, according to Patch.

The survey was taken by over 2,000 drivers by a Honda dealership in Yonkers, New York, according to the dealership.

It’s unclear how many drivers from each state participated in the online test. The results show 89.8 percent of drivers in The Sunshine State passed the road-sign-recognition test with 10.2 percent failing.

Seen another way, while the survey found 1 in 10 Florida drivers fail to recognize basic road signs, 100 percent of the drivers who took the survey in these 10 states passed: Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

Which signs confuse drivers the most?

Among signs that stumped drivers the most in the survey were:

• "U-Turn Only"
• "Soft Shoulder"
• "Yield"
• "Road Shoulder Much Higher Than Road Surface"
• "Bicycles Only"

Many Florida drivers appear confused about which driver has the right of way at four-way stop signs, roundabouts and U-turns, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "Driving in South Florida can seem like negotiating an obstacle course,” according to the story.

Deadliest roadways in Florida

An unsurprising fact to consider in light of the survey is that a study the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported in 2017 that four of the five deadliest highways in the U.S. — based on an annual number of fatalities — were in Florida.

Those deadly Florida highways were:

• U.S. 1, which runs through Central Florida along the east coast, stretching 545 miles through 13 counties
• U.S. 41, north-south highway with 479 miles in Florida between Miami and Jennings
• U.S. 27, north-south highway traveling nearly 500 miles up the Florida Peninsula from Miami to the Georgia state line
• U.S. 441, north-south highway traveling 433 miles from South Florida to Georgia.

Florida AAA said that these studies are open to interpretation. They said they're dependent on the formulas used to calculate the conclusions.

Contact David J. Glatthorn Personal Injury Attorney in West Palm Beach and South Florida today for help with cases involving drivers failing to recognize road signs and for help with car and truck crashes.